1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to furniture assembly and construction, specifically to systems and method for modular furniture assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art there exists a wide variety of types and kinds of furniture and methods for assembling furniture. Typically furniture, such as sofas, chairs, etc., is manufactured and assembled in a factory and shipped as complete units to be distributed and sold at retail and warehouse outlets. However, complete furniture units, such as sofas, desks, etc. are bulky, difficult to move and maneuver, and costly to replace if they become aged or damaged. The alternative to this exists in the form of ready-to-assemble, modular, or otherwise self assembly furniture, wherein a consumer purchases the furniture parts and assembles the furniture themselves.
The ready-to-assembly or modular furniture attempts to solve many of the problems associated with the complete unit furniture as described above. Modular furniture typically is readily assembled and disassembled. The owner moves modular furniture by taking it apart and moving the parts to a new location. This advantage is particularly important in small spaces, such as small room or apartments which have close quarters. However, the commercial success of modular furniture has been somewhat limited.
Some advances and improvements have been made in creating and discovering modular furniture assemblies. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below, and the supported teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,747, issued to Wieland et al., discloses a fully upholstered, ready-to-assemble article of furniture which may be custom ordered by a consumer, packaged by the seller for shipment to the consumer by a parcel delivery service, and then assembled by the consumer from the packaged components. The article of furniture includes a frame of a plurality of interlocking, planar frame members which are secured together by fasteners received in push-in connector elements. Upholstery coverings, the design of which is custom selected by the consumer, are attached to the frame and secured to one another by hook and loop fasteners. Foam elements are received within a second plurality of upholstery covers which have large openings for receiving the foam elements to provide cushions for the article of furniture. The frame members, upholstery covers, and foam elements are packaged in first, second, and third containers, respectively, which are each light enough to be shipped for home delivery by a parcel delivery service.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,079, issued to Guillot, discloses a frame assembly for securing a plurality of modular sofa parts together into a sofa frame. The frame assembly includes a pair of tapered members attached to opposing sides of a backrest sofa part and a pair of receptacles attached to a respective one of a pair of rails, which are in turn attached to a pair of armrests. The backrest is connected to the armrests by inserting each of the tapered members into a tapered slot defined by each respective receptacle and is further strengthened using a pair of overlapping securing members. The tapered shape of the tapered members and slots produces a positive fit that has two directional components to prevent rocking of the backrest in two directions. The rails are configured to also accept a sleeper unit, and a futon unit allowing the sofa frame to be upgraded or adapted as desired by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,298, issued to Harrison, discloses a five-part furniture frame, and method of assembly thereof, consisting of a left arm frame, a right arm frame, a seat box frame, an inside back frame and an outside back frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,837, issued to Niederman et al., discloses an assembled and disassembled modular furniture system. The furniture system includes a base frame having a front member, a first side member, a second side member and a rear member. A plurality of furniture modules including a first arm module, a second arm module and one of a spring nest module and a sleeper module are mounted to the base frame using a plurality of fastener assemblies. Each fastener assembly includes two portions: a stud member and an aligning receptacle bracket. Each of the stud members and said brackets are secured to opposing locations of the base frame and at least one of the modules so that the modules may be positioned upon the frame by engaging the aligning receptacle brackets upon the corresponding stud members.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages and problems of which the objectives and features of the present invention attempt to address. Some of these disadvantages and problems include: being complicated and time consuming to manufacture and assemble; requiring multiple and complicated parts, such as screws, bolts, etc, which can easily be lost or damage; requiring an entirely new piece of furniture upon being damaged or abused; being unstable and non durable; being uncomfortable or unsightly; and/or so forth.
What is needed is a modular furniture assembly and method that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.